AONB welcome
Welcome to the Surrey Hills Wiki, a centralised library of guidance and best practice created not only by the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Board but also by users and other key stakeholders.
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs)
There are 34 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England, covering 15% of the land area, and a further 4 in Wales and 8 in Northern Ireland. AONBs are designated by Government for the purpose of ensuring that the special qualities of our finest landscapes are conserved and enhanced.
The Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
The Surrey Hills AONB was designated on 8 May 1958, which makes it the first AONB in southern England to be designated (the first was the Gower Peninsula near Swansea in 1956). The Surrey Hills AONB stretches across a quarter of the county of Surrey and includes the chalk slopes of the North Downs from Farnham in the west to Oxted in the east, and extends south to the deeply wooded Greensand Hills which rise in Haslemere. For further information on the Surrey Hills visit our website http://www.surreyhills.org.
The Surrey Hills Board
The Surrey Hills Board is a Joint Management Committee which is funded by Defra, the National Trust, Surrey County Council and the local authorities within the Surrey Hills area. For further information on the Surrey Hills Board visit http://www.surreyhillsboard.org.
Featured articles and news
Edmundson Apprentice of the Year award 2026
Entries now open for this Electrical Contractors' Association award.
Traditional blue-grey slate from one of the oldest and largest UK slate quarries down in Cornwall.
There are plenty of sources with the potential to be redeveloped.
Change of use legislation breaths new life into buildings
A run down on Class MA of the General Permitted Development Order.
Solar generation in the historic environment
Success requires understanding each site in detail.
Level 6 Design, Construction and Management BSc
CIOB launches first-ever degree programme to develop the next generation of construction leaders.
Open for business as of April, with its 2026 prospectus and new pipeline of housing schemes.
The operational value of workforce health
Keeping projects moving. Incorporating unplanned absence and the importance of health, in operations.
A carbon case for indigenous slate
UK slate can offer clear embodied carbon advantages.
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Fire door compliance in UK commercial buildings
Architect and manufacturer gives their low down.